Business Notes

The Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce upcoming meetings are as follows:

Every Tuesday, a Lunch and Lead Tip Group allows members to meet and network, share leads and mingle, 12:15-1:30 at the Hyatt DoubleTree Hotel at Tysons, 7801 Leesburg Pike. R.S.V.P. to Harvey Silverman, 703-319-8806.

On Wednesday, May 14, the Youth and Education Committee will meet. Call Barbara McHale at 703-938-6070 x121 for more information.

On Tuesday, May 20, the Technology Committee will meet. Call George Gould at 703-266-8522 for more information.

On Wednesday, May 21, the Lunch and Learn will feature Norman Hecht, small-business advocate, from Allfirst Bank-Tysons Corner, speaking on the topic "How to Talk so Banks Will Listen, and How to Listen so Banks Will Talk." Noon-1:15 p.m. at HQ Global Workplace. Healthy lunch from Whole Foods provided by speakers. Free. R.S.V.P. to 281-1333. Space limited to 20 people.

On Thursday, May 22, the Evening Networking Mixer will provide a chance to meet more area business owners and fellow chamber members. 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Whole Foods Market, Vienna, 143 Maple Ave. E. R.S.V.P. to 703-281-1333 or www.vtrcc.org/rsvp.htm.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 24-25, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., the VTRCC Health Fair at Viva Vienna will feature Evolution Health and Fitness and the Grove Center for Chiropractic and Wellness outside of Evolution Health and Fitness, 216 Old Dominion Road N.E., providing a variety of health screenings, products and information. Some screenings cost a small fee.

The membership drive has been extended until May 31. The member who recruits the most new members will win a getaway at Atlantic City's Tropicana Casino and Retreat. New members will receive 14 months of membership for the price of 12, as well as a copy of the business database compact disc.

The Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce upcoming meetings are as follows:

The Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce reservation policy states that payment must be made in advance or at the door. No-shows will be billed unless the reservation is canceled 48 hours in advance. A $25 fee will be charged for returned checks.

The Women in Technology (WIT) Leadership Awards Banquet will take place on May 15 at the Sheraton Premiere, Tysons Corner. The banquet recognizes individuals for their outstanding accomplishments in the areas of mentoring, entrepreneurship and technology. For more information, visit www.womenintechnology.org.

Tysons Business and Professional Women (BPW) will host Vincette L. Goerl, vice president of business operations and management, Daston Corp., with "Move into Leadership" at its monthly breakfast meeting on May 21, 7:30-9 a.m., at Holland & Knight LLP, 1600 Tysons Blvd., No. 700, McLean. Cost is $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers. For information or reservations, call Liz Simpson at 703-734-0342.

The Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce invites the membership to attend the annual meeting to be held on May 21 at The Capital Grille, 1861 International Drive, McLean. At this meeting members in good standing will elect officers and board of directors members to fill vacancies for terms beginning July 1. Bring guests for a mixer preceding and following the annual meeting. The mixer will commence at 5:30 p.m., $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers. Guests may stay for the meeting. R.S.V.P. by calling 703-356-5424, or e-mail info@mcleanchamber.org.

The eWomen Network will host an "Accelerated Networking" luncheon on Wednesday, May 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Tower Club, 8000 Crescent Towers, Suite 1700, McLean. The event will provide attendees with a structured networking environment and give each the opportunity to promote what she has to offer to others. Admission costs $60 for nonmembers, $45 for members. Register online at www.eWomenNetwork.com.

Leadership Fairfax, Inc. will host a forum on Fairfax Government and Fairfax County schools on Thursday, May 22, 7:30-9:30 a.m., at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner. The forum will feature Tony Griffin, county executive, and Daniel Domenech, superintendent of schools, as panel members. The event costs $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Continental breakfast is included. Visit www.leadershipfairfax.org.

Business and Profession Women of Greater Fairfax will host Kathy Hannon, general manager of Tysons Corner Center, for a discussion titled "Shopping - From a Business Perspective" at its monthly dinner meeting on Tuesday, June 3, 6:30-9 p.m., at Tysons Corner Embassy Suites, 8517 Leesburg Pike, Vienna. Reservations are $25. For information and reservations, call 703-471-4604.

Norbert Bender, Ph.D., M.D., and Michael Kirchengast, Ph.D., have joined PRA International, the world's largest privately held global drug development organization, as vice president of operations and senior director of strategic consulting, respectively. Bender and Kirchengast will be located in PRA's Mannheim, Germany, office. PRA International is headquartered in McLean.

United Bankshares Inc. announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Sequoia Bancshares, headquartered in Bethesda, Md. United will acquire Sequoia Bancshares and its wholly owned banking subsidiary, SequoiaBank. Sequoia Bancshares, with $547 million in assets, has 12 full-service offices located in Northern Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Montgomery County, Md. Upon completion of the acquisition, it is anticipated that SequoiaBank will be merged with United's Virginia subsidiary, United Bank, the third largest Virginia-headquartered bank.

Stephan Quinn Cassaday, CFP, CFS, president of Cassaday & Co. Inc., a McLean-based financial planning and investment management firm, will receive the 2003 Leadership Award from the National Capital Chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) during the chapter's annual gala on June 30. Peers in the planning progression give the award to the member whose contributions to the overall success of the chapter merit exceptional recognition. Cassaday served on the board of directors of the FPA for 11 years, during which he introduced several new FPA initiatives, including the annual FPA Gala. The gala serves as a fund-raising event for the Good Samaritan Foundation, an area charity.

The Mail Boxes Etc. store located in McLean joined over 3,000 other Mail Boxes Etc. stores across the country as they officially changed their name to The UPS Store. New low shipping rates direct from UPS, as well as the traditional full range of packaging, postal and business services, are aimed at saving customers time and money as a part of the company's national re-branding campaign.

Bank of America is opening a new Tysons Corner banking center, located 1934 Old Gallows Road. The 1960 Gallows Road Bank of America location will be relocated to the new banking center, which will feature six lobby teller stations, two walk-up and two drive-up automated teller machines and a night depository. To celebrate the banking center's opening, customers will be offered a free companion airline certificate when opening any personal or small business checking account; a 1.9 percent introductory annual percentage rate for qualified applicants who open a Bank of America credit card; a $200 Bank of America Visa gift card for customers who take out a mortgage; a $75 Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse gift certificate for opening a home equity line of credit; and free, unlimited online bill pay when signing up for online banking.

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, has added two intellectual property attorneys to the firm's Technology and Commerce Practice Group in its Northern Virginia office. Nanda Alapati and Barry Goldsmith will bring their experience as electrical engineers as well as previous experience in technological patents to enrich Womble Carlyle's team, which already possesses an extensive knowledge of domestic and foreign intellectual property law.

Patrick Jourdan recently joined the architecture firm of Davis Carter Scott Ltd. and will work with Douglas Carter and his design team in their McLean office. Jourdan has 25 years of national and international design experience, beginning his career with a master’s degree in architecture from Ecole National Auperieure des Beax-Arts in Paris and master planning commissions that include theme parks, retail entertainment complexes, corporate campuses and mixed-use urban development. Davis Carter Scott is the largest locally owned architectural and interior architectural firm in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Carlyn & Co. Interior Design of Great Falls was awarded the "Pillars of Industry" National Interior Merchandising Award at the 12th annual National Association of Home Builders conference held last March in Boca Raton, Fla. Judges honored Carlyn & Co. for their extraordinary design efforts on behalf of JPI, the developer of the community, for their Carlyle Mill project in Alexandria.

The "Vienna Dining & Lodging Guide" for 2003 is now available. The guide showcases dining choices to be found all around town, and features everything from fast food to ethnic selections to fine cuisine.

Lara, Shull & May Ltd. will partner with The Capital Trust Co. of Delaware, an independent trustee that assists professional advisers in serving the trust needs of their clients, for a new strategic alliance to offer personal trust services. In addition to managing assets where the trustee is an individual or a bank, Lara, Shull & May will now be able to offer the benefits of corporate trusteeship while preserving clients’ ability to continue to use customized investment management. Lara, Shull & May Ltd., is an independent, full-service tax and investment planning firm and broker-dealer located in Vienna.

Bowers Construction Group Inc. received high honors in the "Entire House" division of this year's Regional Contractor of the Year awards. Bowers Construction Group is located in McLean and is a member of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

Toastmasters International District 27 invites area businesses, service organizations, churches, schools and government agencies to take advantage of its Speakers Bureau, a free public service that helps to take the risk out of hiring a speaker. Speakers can present speeches on topics including motivational and inspirational topics, self-esteem, government issues, women’s issues, technology, marketing, real estate and international relations. With enough notice, some members can also give a custom presentation.

The initial contact through the Bureau is free. If the organization decides to call the speaker back after the speaker has performed at its function, it then coordinates call-backs with the speaker directly. For a complete list of topics and speakers, visit www.geocities.com/D27bureau, or call Kerri Kannan at 703-609-9738.

Leading specialty retailer Talbot’s plans to open its first Talbot’s men’s store in the D.C. metro area. The 3,900-square-foot Talbot’s men’s store is expected to open in September at Tysons Corner Center in McLean. It will be the sixth Talbot’s men’s store nationwide.

For the fourth consecutive year, Acumen Solutions, a management and technology consulting firm in Vienna, has kicked off its Project Wellness program, a corporate initiative designed to promote camaraderie, personal accomplishment and the mental and physical well-being of each participant. Each participant sets a personal goal for himself that can be accomplished within a six-month period. Coworkers then build unity, feel the support of their company and establish a sense of teamwork that enriches their commitment to the organization, besides being healthier people.

April was The Craftmark Group's best month in its sales history. With 77 total net sales, Craftmark Homes and Craftstar Homes combined hit a sales landmark. As of April, The Craftmark Group completed 227 home sales, putting it on track to meet or exceed last year's total sales of 551.

Carlyn & Co. Interior Design of Great Falls captured nine Merchandising Achievement in Marketing Excellence (MAME) awards and four Awards of Merit at the awards ceremony on May 1 in Tysons Corner. The MAME awards, considered the most prestigious regional marketing awards in the building industry, honor excellence in merchandising, sales achievement, overall marketing and advertising in the Washington metropolitan area.